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Sunday, 26 May 2013

Every
sewist should have a sewing caddy (sewing bag) for tools and notions. I made
one today based on the instructions fromSew It AllFebruary 2013 Issue.

The caddy has inside and
outside pocket. I made it from blackout curtain fabric I got for $2 per meter.
It turns to be quite sturdy. It measures 5 inch (14 cm) wide and 11 inch (28 cm) long for the base and 7.5 inch (19cm) tall.

This is the first hand carrying bag I made. It’s
simple but not quite straight forward. It has lots of stitching, mainly because
of the top stitching. I used my vintage Bernina 740 Favorit. It is a
semi industrial machine so it runs through the heavy weight fabric
effortlessly.

Here
is the sewing caddy.

And here is my Bernina 740 Favorit. I adopted it from an old lady who owned it since 1960's. It costs a small fortune to get it fixed. But this semi industrial machine is perfect for heavyweight fabric. It just run five or six thick layer effortlessly.

I know, this dress is old fashioned. I've had this Simplicity
2848 pattern sitting in my drawer for a long time and I finally had enough courage
to make it. I was first attracted by the cover image of the red dress worn by the
model. Such a little cute dress. It's a classic and perfect for work.

The fabric I used is Grey with Black Check Wool Blend
Flannel. I used an orange piping to match the thin orange stripe on the fabric.
It turned out to be great.

The instruction only tells you to line the yoke. I fully
lined the dress to make it a good shape and comfortable. Here is the photo of the
lining inside. I have my dummyRuby to try it on. :)

This project involved techniques to sew piping. I have taken a lot of photos to show you.

For the piping between the yoke and the main front, see this post as I was reviewing the Bernina foot no. 12.

The piping around the neckline is one continuous piece. I sewed the piping with the zipper foot and then attached it to the main fabric.

Then with right sides together, I sewed the neckline of the lining, piping and the main fabric. I also understitched the lining.

Here are more photos of the lining.

I learnt more about lining and piping in this project. The piping adds a subtle contrast to the pattern and colours of the fabric.

Sunday, 5 May 2013

This is another popular pattern by Butterick. I bought the blue flower print fabric cheap from a warehouse a while ago. It's supposed for quilting. 100% cotton. I am happy with the fabric and the pattern overall. Here are the pic.

The skirt is easy to make. The only challenge is the neck bank, specially the v-neck at the back. It took me long time to figure out how to sew. I took some on the v-point.

I think I need to do more research on how to sew v-neck band. I am thinking it may be a good idea to attache a collar. But I have not make a collar ever, so I think I should do some projects with collar first.

The armhole is a bit too small for me, even though I cut size 10.

I learnt how to sew lining on this project. Lining is so good. It makes the garment more comfortable to wear and looks more professional. It takes a bit of effort on the slip stitching the lower edge. But it's worth it.